Daniel Cormier breaks down in tears as ex-champ is inducted into UFC Hall of Fame along with unbeaten legend Khabib
DANIEL CORMIER and Khabib Nurmagomedov both became emotional after being inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame. Khabib, 33, paid tribute to his late father for the success he has had in the Octogan with the Russian becoming world champion at UFC 223 in April 2018. Cormier became UFC light heavyweight champion in 2015 and […]
DANIEL CORMIER and Khabib Nurmagomedov both became emotional after being inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Khabib, 33, paid tribute to his late father for the success he has had in the Octogan with the Russian becoming world champion at UFC 223 in April 2018.
Cormier became UFC light heavyweight champion in 2015 and defended his title five times before giving up the belt in December 2018.
The 43-year-old also won the heavyweight belt after beating Stipe Miocic and defended the title against Derrick Lewis before losing it to Miocic.
Cormier revealed his pride at being inducted into the Hall of Fame – an honour made even better by the fact he shared the occasion with Khabib.
Cormier broke down in tears during his acceptance speech, saying: “Guys, this has been an absolute dream of mine.
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“I’m a guy that’s always loved sports, and I understand the significance of the Hall of Fame.
“I understand the honour of an athlete’s career being memorialized by those three words. Therefore, I want you to know this means everything to me.
“Me and Khabib going in together, it’s just a tremendous night.
Meanwhile, Khabib also spoke emotionally about the importance of his father’s influence.
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He described his journey into MMA and the UFC and revealed his success motivates him to pass on his knowledge to others trying to achieve big things in the sport.
Khabib said: “Ten years ago, my mind was completely different.
“‘I’m going to be champion, I’m going to be rich, buy everything. But last two years, everything that happened, my mind changed.
“The way I was thinking changed. My father is not with me, and it’s very hard time to stand here and talk about him. It’s very emotional for me.
“[My father] rented a very big house and we all were living together.
“We would eat together. We were going to school, come back, training, come back, just father, trying to invest everything we have. Time, energy, money, he invested in us. He invested in us.
“From this house comes six world champions, UFC champions, a lot of champions and very good people because father invested everything that we have. He gave us a good education. He gave us good opportunity to learn in good schools, university, he invested everything he had.
“All his life he was doing, he was investing in people. This is very big motivation for me. Even now when I’m finished, right now I’m trying to invest in people. Because this is the best investment.”